Medical breakthroughs

X-Ray (1/10)

A lab technician at the Madina Hospital in Mogadishu displays an x-ray of a gunshot victim.

X-rays are a form electromagnetic radiation first discovered by Wilhelm Röntgen in 1895. In many parts of the world x-rays are therefore knows as Röntgen rays. (Source: Reuters)

Penicillin (2/10)

Penicillin fungi growing on a bunch of moldy red grapes. The mold, which is often found on foods, produces Penicillin G, a potent antibacterial agent.

The drug was discovered accidentally in 1928 by Alexander Fleming. Mold spores had found their way into a Petri dish of Staphylococcus bacteria preventing the bacteria from reproducing. Although only effective on a narrow range of diseases, penicillin marked the start of the era of antibiotics. (Source: Reuters)

Aspirin (3/10)

A vessel floats past an administration building of Bayer AG wrapped in a foil in the shape of a giant "Aspirin" box. The giant billboard marks the 100th anniversary of the company's world famous pain-killer also known as acetylsalicylic acid.

Initially used to treat inflammations and pain, later studies discovered that Aspirin also has an anti-clotting effect. Given in low doses it can help to prevent heart attacks and strokes. (Source: Reuters)

Insulin (4/10)

Insulin regulates the sugar levels in the blood and helps millions of diabetes patients keep their disease in check. The hormone was first isolated in the pancreas in 1921-22 at the University of Toronto and, until today, remains the only effective treatment for diabetes. (Source: Reuters)

Plasters (5/10)

Justin Noynay has his upper lips covered with a plaster after surgery at a hospital in Manila. Plasters, also called band-aids in the U.S., were invented by pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson in 1921.

At a time when most bandages were made of impractical layers of gauze taped together, plasters that could be applied easily became an instant success. (Source: Reuters)

Hepatitis Vaccine (6/10)

A worker arranges Hepatitis-A vaccines for packing at a pharmaceutical company in Beijing. Hepatitis occurs in three types, A, B, and C and affects millions of people worldwide.

In 1963, an American physician discovered a Hepatitis B antigen in the blood of Australian aborigines, the basis for a test and a vaccine. When blood banks started using the test, infections after blood transfusions decreased by 25 percent. (Source: Reuters)

Ultrasound (7/10)

Gynecologist Arquimedes Hernandez performs an ultrasound scan on a mother-to-be at the "integrated hospital" in Cuetzalan, Mexico.

The technology was first described for medical purposes in 1942. It uses sound waves inaudible to the human ear to create images of the interior of human bodies. Medical diagnostics rely heavily on ultrasound to examine unborn babies, bone structures, or tumors. (Source: Reuters)

CT Scan (8/10)

Computed tomography (CT) is a very advanced way of using x-rays to obtain a three dimensional image of the body. A CT scan usually results in various three dimensional pictures that allow conclusions on, for example, the depth and extension of a tumor.

Data collected is usually computer-enhanced to enhance visible structures and allow for more specific conclusions. The first CT was built in the 1970s by EMI, best know for its music business. (Source: Shutterstock)

Cloning (9/10)

Dr Ian Wilmut, leader of the team that created Dolly the sheep - the world's first mammal cloned from an adult cell - faces her as she goes on display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

Dolly, born in 1996, was killed in February 2003 when it was discovered she had a progressive lung disease. There are many different cloning techniques: some are only used to duplicate parts of DNA, others to produce identical cells or organisms. Reproductive cloning as in the case of Dolly has been heavily criticized. Supporters often refer to therapeutic cloning, which does not attempt to clone animals or humans, but to grow stem cells that can be used to treat diseases. (Source: Reuters)

Artificial Heart (10/10)

The AbioCor implantable replacement heart, the world's first self-contained mechanical heart, was implanted in a patient during a seven-hour operation at the Jewish Hospital in Louisville, USA in 2001.

The revolutionary procedure is the first major advance in the development of an artificial replacement heart in nearly two decades. (Source: Reuters)